Arnold Kirke Smith (23 April 1850 – 8 October 1927) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as a forward in the first international match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, as well as captaining

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in the

1873 FA Cup Final The 1873 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 29 March 1873 at Lillie Bridge in London. It was the second final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known ...

. Smith was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1875 and after various clerical appointments he became vicar of Boxworth where he remained until his death on 8 October 1927.

Career

Smith was born in

Ecclesfield Ecclesfield is a village and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Sheffield City Centre. Ecclesfield civil parish had a population of 32,073 at the 2011 Census. Ecclesfield wards ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

before going up to

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, matriculating in 1869 and graduating B.A. in 1873. He became the captain of the university football team and was known to be a "powerful and quick attacker". He won his solitary England cap playing at

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

's first ever international match against

on 30 November 1872, although he had previously represented

in London based unofficial matches between the two nations. In 1873, he captained the university team in the

against the holders, Wanderers. He started the match in

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

but after conceding the first goal, he decided to play without a goalkeeper and moved into attack. Despite some "skilful" play, the students were unable to equalize before his plan "back-fired" when

Charles Wollaston Charles Henry Reynolds Wollaston (31 July 1849 – 22 June 1926) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Wanderers and England. He won the FA Cup five times with Wanderers, becoming the first player to do so. Wollaston was born i ...

scored a second goal. During his career he also represented the

FA and played for the original Sheffield club. After leaving university, Smith was ordained in 1875 and became the curate at

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its e ...

for two years. He was then curate at

Eaton Socon Eaton Socon is a community in south-west Cambridgeshire. Eaton Socon is a component of the town of St Neots, located on its south-west margin. Eaton Socon lies on the west side of the River Great Ouse, and is bounded on the west by the A1 road ...

from 1877 to 1881 before moving to Somersham, Cambridgeshire, where he became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

in 1883. After six years, he was then appointed as vicar at Boxworth where he remained until his death on 8 October 1927. In 1998, the knitted woollen jersey that he wore in the first international match was sold at auction for £21,000.

Honours

Memorial for Revd Arnold Kirke Smith - geograph

Oxford University *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runners-up:

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defe ...

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Arnold Kirke 1850 births 1927 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Association football forwards England international footballers England v Scotland representative footballers (1870–1872) English footballers FA Cup Final players Footballers from Sheffield Oxford University A.F.C. players People educated at Cheltenham College People from South Cambridgeshire District Sheffield F.C. players